SPE 001

Bentonite Water Based Mud to

Pipesticking for Carbonate Formation

Avoid

Differential

Niko Resources Ltd, Laboratory of Drilling Fluid Analyze, Petroleum Engineering

Department UPNV Yogyakarta
Copyright@2014, Society of Petroleum Engineering.

This paper was prepared for final test in drilling fluid analyze
experiment. This paper is as a valuable complimentary requirement
to obtain grade for this experiment.
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Analyze committee following review of information contained in an
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Author, SPE UPN VY SC, PO.Box 55283, Fax.(0274) 486095.

Abstract
On well X we got a pipe
sticking at 6800 ft depth. The
condition shows that the pipe cannot
be rotated while the circulation still
can go on. The treatment has done by
pulled over the pipe by giving
150,000 lbs force from 30,000 lbs
gripping force. By the treatment, we
got 4 inches of stretch with 30 lb/ft
drillstring weight. From the data, a
differential pipe sticking problem
was discovered.
A research has done to solve
this problem where got that pipe
stuck at 735.294 ft depth and we
designed a proper mud to prevent
this problem. By making bentonite
water based mud with barite as
weighting agent and PAC-L as
filtration loss control agent, we do
some calculation to make sure that
the mud designed is suitable for the
condition above.
As the result of this mud
design, this paper will be reviewed to
elaborate the success of this project.
Keywords : mud, density, rheology,
differential pipe sticking

Introduction
Drilling mud is a fluid that is
used, which is designed to help the
process of drilling. The composition
and physical properties of the mud is
very influential on a drilling
operation as one of the factors that
determine the success or failure of a
drilling is dependent on drilling mud.
Drilling speed, efficiency, safety, and
cost of drilling is highly dependent
on drilling mud used.
In drilling operation there
will be some challenges that will
happening. One of them is
differential pipe sticking. This
problem is the biggest problem in
drilling operation. Since the cause of
differential pipe sticking is a very big
differential pressure and high
filtration loss order to prevent this
problem we need a mud with a
suitable hydrostatic pressure with a
low filtration loss.
Statement of Theory
1. Physical
Properties
of
Drilling Fluid
a. Density
The mass per unit
volume of a drilling fluid,
synonymous with mud
weight.
Weight
is
reported in lbm/gal (ppg),
kg/m3 or g/cm3 (also
called specific gravity),
lb/ft3
or
hydrostatic
gradient,
or
lb/in2/ft

(psi/ft). Mud weight

controls
hydrostatic
pressure in wellbore and
prevents unwanted flow
into well. The weight of
the mud also prevents
collapse of casing and the
open hole. Excessive mud
weight can cause lost
circulation
by
propagating, and then
filling, fractures in the
rock.
Mud
weight
(density) test procedures
using a mud balance have
been standardize and
published by the API.
The
hydrostatic
pressure of the mud can
be expressed as:
Ph = 0.052 x m x
D
Information:
Ph = hydrostatic
pressure, psi
m = density of
drilling mud, ppg
D = height of the
column of mud, ft
Control of density is
very important, because if
too heavy can cause lost
circulation and if too light
will cause kick and blowout. To change the density
of drilling fluid, we can
use the material balance
equation to determine the
amount weighting agent
needed into the previous
mud composition, so if
we use barite as the
weighting agent then the
equation will be:

Ws=684 x

( mnmo
smn )

Information:
Ws = weight of weighting
agent, kg/bbl
mn
= new mud
density, ppg
mo
= old mud
density, ppg
s
=
barite
density, 35.8 ppg
b. Yield Point
Yield point is a
minimum stress needed
to make fluid starts to
move. Yield point is used
to evaluate the ability of
a mud to lift cuttings out
of the annulus. A high
yield point implies a
non-Newtonian
fluid,
one that carries cuttings
better than a fluid of
similar density but lower
yield point. Yield point is
lowered by adding deflocculant to a claybased mud and increased
by
adding
freshly
dispersed clay or a
flocculant, such as lime.
c. Gel Strength
Gel strength is the
shear stress measured at
low shear rate after a mud
has set quiescently for a
period time (10 seconds
and 10 minutes in the
standard API procedure).
It is a measure of the
ability of a colloidal
dispersion to develop and
retain a gel form, based
on its resistance to shear.

The gel strength of

drilling of a drilling mud
determines its ability to
hold solids in suspension
at static condition.
d. Plastic Viscosity
Plastic viscosity is
an absolute flow property
indicating
the
flow
resistance of certain types
of fluids. It is the slope of
the shear stress/shear rate
line above the yield point.
Plastic
viscosity
represents the viscosity of
a mud when extrapolated
to infinite shear rate on
the basis mathematics of
the Bingham model. A
low plastic viscosity
indicates that the mud is
capable of drilling rapidly
because of the low
viscosity of mud exiting
at the bit. High plastic
viscosity is caused by a
viscous base fluid and by
excess colloidal solids. To
lower plastic viscosity, a
reduction
in
solids
contents can be achieved
by dilution of the mud.
e. Filtration Loss
Filtration loss is the
process of separating
component of a slurry by
leaving the suspended
solids as filter cake on a
filter medium while the
liquid phase of the mud
passes
through.
The
process can be either
static or dynamic. When
liquid phase of the mud
passes
porous
and
permeable formation, it

leaves the cake on the

medium. It is called mud
cake. The API standard
for filtration loss is 15
ml/30 minutes and for
mud cake is 0.08-0.2 cm.
2. Differential Pipe Sticking
Differential
pipe
sticking is a condition
whereby the drillstring cannot
be moved (rotated or
reciprocated) along the axis
of the wellbore. Differential
pipe sticking typically occurs
when high-contact forces
caused by low formation
pressure, are exerted over a
sufficiently large area of the
drillstring. For most drilling
organizations,
differential
pipe sticking is the greatest
drilling problem worldwide
in terms of time and financial
cost. It is important to note
that the sticking force is a
product of the differential
pressure
between
the
wellbore and the reservoir
and the area that the
differential pressure is acting
upon. This means that a
relatively low differential
pressure applied over a large
working area can be just as
effective in sticking the pipe
as high as can a high
differential pressure applied
over a small area.
The signs of differential pipe
sticking are:
1. Drillstring cannot be
moved
(rotary
or
reciprocated)
2. Normal mud pumping
pressure (circulation can
still be done)

Another cause of differential

pipe sticking:
1. Drill collar used is too
large so that the clearance
between the drill collar
and bore hole is small
2. High filtration loss rate
3. High content of solids in
the mud
4. Pipe often are in static
states as it passes through
permeable zone
This type of pipe
sticking occurs only along the
porous and permeable zone,
such as sandstone, limestone.
The pipe clamping force (F,
with the friction resistance as
a function of the thickness of
the mud cake) can be
calculated
using
the
following equation:
F = DP x Cf x Ac
Information:
F
= force, lbs
DP
= differential
pressure, psi
Ac
= area of the contact
area, in2
Cf
= coefficient of
friction, dimensionless
The equation to
determine drill string stuck
point:
735294 e Wdp
L
F
Information:
L
= free drillstring from
surface, ft
e
= stretch, inch
Wdp = drillpipe weight,
lb/ft
F
= pull up force, lbs
3. Additive used
a. Barite

A
dense mineral comprising
barium sulfate [BaSO4].
Commonly
used
as
a weighting agent for all
types of drilling fluids,
barites are mined in many
areas worldwide and
shipped as ore to grinding
plants
in
strategic
locations,
where API specifies
grinding to a particle size
of 3 to74 microns. Pure
barium
sulfate
has
a specific gravity of 4.50
g/cm3, but drilling-grade
barite is expected to have
a specific gravity of at
least 4.20 g/cm3 to meet
API
specifications.
Contaminants in barite,
such as cement, siderite,
pyrrhotite, gypsum and an
hydrite,
can
cause
problems in certain mud
systems and should be
evaluated in any quality
assurance program
for
drilling-mud additives.
b. PAC-L
PAC-L is a modified
polyanionic
cellulose
polymer (PAC) with
minimum impact on mud
density. PAC-L provides
filtration
control
in
bentonite-based drilling
fluids and increases water
absorption capacity.

Presentation of Data and Result

Data case:
TVD
= 6800 ft

Pore pressure = 8.45 ppg

Over pull
= 30,000 lbs to
150,000 lbs
Stretch
= 4 inches
DP weight
= 30 lb/ft
Stuck point:
735294 e Wdp
L
F
L

735294 4inch 30lb / ft

150,000lbs 30,000lb

L = 735.294 ft

Weighting agent:
By using passion ratio, the safe
density will be = 8.45 + 0.5 = 8.95
ppg, so:
mnmo
Ws=684 x
smn

(
)
8.958.93
Ws=684 x (
35.88.95 ) \
Ws=1.1 gr /350 ml

So, the weight of barite that must

added to base mud is

25 gr + 1.1 gr = 26.1 gr.

Laboratory Result:
Base mud
350 ml water + 22.5 gr bentonite +
26.1 gr barite + 4 gr PAC-L
Mud balance
m = 8.95 ppg
Filtration loss apparatus
Filtrate Volume
6.1 ml/30 minutes
Mud cake in 3 points
0.170 cm; 0.110 cm; 0.100 cm
Average = 0.1267 cm
Fan VG Meter
C600 = 129 lb/100 ft2
C300 = 95 lb/100 ft2
PV
= (129-95) lb/100 ft2
= 34 cp
YP
= C300 PV
= 95 lb/100 ft2 34 lb/100
2
ft
= 61 lb/100 ft2
GS 10 seconds
= 29 lb/100 ft2
GS 10 minutes
= 62 lb/100 ft2
Discussion
Differential pipe sticking
caused by the differential pressure
that higher than 200 psi. So to avoid
differential pipe sticking, the mud we
designed must have a hydrostatic
pressure with 100 up to 200 psi
differential pressure. In the case,
differential pipe sticking happened at
carbonate formation at 735.294 ft.
The pore pressure is 8.45 ppg or
2,987.92 psi and the mud pressure
we have is 8.95 ppg or 3,164.72 psi
(based on laboratory data in previous
experiment). Where the differential

pressure is 176.8 psi, the mud is safe

to be used in drilling operation.
According to API standard,
the maximum value of yield point is
three times of plastic viscosity, the
comparison of gel strength at 10
seconds to gel strength at 10 minutes
is , the maximum filtrate volume is
15 ml/30 minutes and the thickness
of mud cake is 0.08 0.2 cm. Since
the yield point is 61 lb/100 ft2 and
the plastic viscosity is 34 cp where
the yield point is under three times
plastic viscosity; the comparison of
gel strength is 29 lb/100 ft2 per 62
lb/100 ft2 (close to ); filtrate
volume is 6.1 ml/30 minutes and the
mud cake is 0.1267 cm; so the mud
designed is good for the case.
PAC-L works as filtration
loss control agent. The weight we
added (4 gram) based on the data we
got from experiment at laboratory of
drilling fluid analyze. Salt water may
requires twice as much PAC-L as
fresh water. We use PAC-L instead of
Spersen because the carbonate
contamination doesnt affect pH
where Spersen is an effective
deflocculant (inhibits bentonitic
cutting and/or shale hydration) and
filtration loss control agent.

can produce 100 200 psi

differential pressure, also the mud
that can reduce the contact area and
the coefficient friction between
drillstring and mud cake. The
differential
pressure
can
be
controlled by designing the mud
density. The contact area can be
reduced by reducing mud cake
thickness and coefficient friction can
be reduced by reducing filtration
loss. Since PAC-L produce thin mud
cake and low filtration rate, we can
conclude that the bentonite water
based mud with PAC-L is a suitable
mud for the case in order to prevent
differential pipe sticking.
Conclusion
1. From experiment result and
calculation we have:
a. Stuck point= 735.294 ft
b. PV
= 34 cp
c. YP
= 61 lb/100 ft2
d. GS 10
= 29 lb/100 ft2
e. GS 10
= 62 lb/100 ft2
f. Filtrate vol = 6.1 ml/30
g. Mud cake = 0.1267 cm
h. Pdifferential
= 176.8 psi
2. Differential pipe sticking can
be prevented by making a
mud that can produce
hydrostatic pressure with 100
up to 200 psi differential
pressure and thin mud cake
and low filtration loss.
3. The using of PAC-L is
suitable
for
carbonate
formation.
References
www.slbglossary.com
Chevron Drilling Fluid
Handbook

Differential pipe sticking can

be prevented by designed a mud that

Manual

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